False Allegations Reinvigorate US Defamation Law
SAVE
December 8, 2024
The epidemic of false allegations over the last 20 years has reinvigorated American defamation law. The recent wave of false allegations seems to have begun in March 2006 with the Duke lacrosse case. That case resulted in an unscrupulous prosecutor being removed from office, disbarred, and jailed for contempt of court. It also cost Duke University as much as $100 million in legal fees, settlements, and other expenses. The three principal victims received $20 million each and Duke paid additional amounts to the former coach and other members of the team.
The Duke lacrosse case was considered an outlier for almost a decade until Rolling Stone magazine published an article titled “A Rape on Campus” 10 years ago on November 19, 2014. In that article, a young female student told a completely fabricated tale of how she had been gang raped in a University of Virginia fraternity. Rolling Stone was sued by both a university dean who was mentioned in the story and the fraternity, and paid seven-figure settlements in both cases. The settlements effectively bankrupted the magazine and resulted in its sale.
The already problematic trend of false allegations was turned into an epidemic by the Obama Administration’s “Dear Colleague Letter,” which pressured colleges to reduce due process protections in campus sexual misconduct cases, and (especially) the #MeToo movement. The growing unfairness of these cases, in turn, created a backlash, which is what we’re seeing in American courtrooms today.
The 2022 defamation case brought by the actor Johnny Depp against his ex-wife Amber Heard was an important milestone. This case arose out of an op-ed written by Heard that accused her ex-husband of domestic violence and resulted in a jury awarding Depp $15 million in compensatory and punitive damages. This case was important because Depp was a public figure. Prior to this case, conventional wisdom in American legal circles believed that it was virtually impossible for a public figure to win a defamation case in the US.
In recent years, the number of cases and the damage awards have increased substantially. Here are three cases from the last two weeks. These cases are an interesting sample because (i) all three involve public figures, (ii) all three involve allegations that are decades old, and (iii) one involves a corporate defendant that published the allegations in the lyrics of a widely-distributed song.
Nick Carter’s Counterclaim Against Sexual Battery Accuser Will Continue After Nevada Supreme Court Denies Appeal
People, Nov. 27, 2024
Nick Carter’s counterclaim against accuser Shannon Ruth, who sued him in 2022 claiming that he raped her on a tour bus in Tacoma in 2001, has a judge’s permission to move forward. …
On Tuesday, Nov. 26, Nevada Supreme Court judge Nancy L. Allf denied Ruth’s anti-SLAPP motion against Carter’s counterclaim because she “failed to satisfy her burden,” according to documents obtained by PEOPLE.
“Our resolution of this appeal has been hindered by Ruth’s failure to identify with specificity any of the statements that form the basis of Ruth’s anti-SLAPP motion. We therefore conclude that any statements on which Carter’s counterclaims is based that are not specifically addressed in this order do not warrant reversal of the district court’s order,” the filing states.
Carter filed a counterclaim in February 2023 against Ruth and Melissa Schuman, who accused him of rape in April 2023, stating that the two women took advantage of the #MeToo movement and used it to launch a five-year conspiracy to “defame and vilify Carter and otherwise ruin his reputation for the purposes of garnering attention and fame and/or extorting money from Carter,” according to the suit obtained by PEOPLE. (He was given the OK to pursue the defamation countersuit against Schuman in August 2023 and is now suing her for $2.5 million.)
Drake takes legal action over song’s ‘sex offender’ claim
BBC, Nov. 27, 2024
https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c0rgl497k59o
Drake has filed a second legal action against record label Universal Music over Kendrick Lamar’s hit Not Like Us, which was released at the height of the pair’s feud earlier this year.
The star has accused Universal of defamation, and his legal papers claim the company could have halted the release of a song “falsely accusing him of being a sex offender”.
Instead, his lawyers claim, Universal “executed a plan” to make the song “a viral mega-hit”, and used Lamar’s incendiary lyrics “to drive consumer hysteria and, of course, massive revenues”.
TD Jakes files defamation lawsuit against man who accused him of sexual assault
Christian Post, Nov. 29, 2024
https://www.christianpost.com/news/td-jakes-files-defamation-lawsuit-against-duane-youngblood.html
A day after suffering “a slight health incident” while preaching on Sunday, Bishop T.D. Jakes of The Potter’s House megachurch in Dallas, Texas, filed a defamation lawsuit against former-pastor-turned-registered sex offender Duane Youngblood, who alleged he was sexually assaulted by Jakes when he was a teenager some 40 years ago
“The underlying story in this case depicts a carefully planned effort by a convicted criminal, and those acting in concert with him, to rewrite history in order to deflect blame and accountability for his own reprehensible and criminal conduct and to publicly smear a renowned and eminently respected religious leader in a blatant and explicit attempt to extort him for millions of dollars,” lawyers for Jakes wrote in the 20-page lawsuit filed in the Western District Court in Pennsylvania in which they detailed Youngblood’s history of abusing minors since at least 2002.
Here’s a sample of other recent cases:
Can Vanderbilt Student Suspended for Alleged False Accusations Sue Vanderbilt Pseudonymously?
No, says a federal Magistrate Judge, though the classmate (who isn’t a party to the suit) is entitled to have his name pseudonymized.
Volokh Conspiracy, Nov. 4, 2024
In the fall of 2020, Plaintiff Parker Poe enrolled as an undergraduate at Vanderbilt University. Plaintiff took a leave of absence from school in April 2022, during which time he and others anonymously made and shared posts on at least two social media websites concerning Roe. Some of those posts alleged that Roe had sexually assaulted women.
Roe disputed the allegations and filed a lawsuit to uncover the identities of the anonymous posters. Poe was revealed as one of the posters. Roe and members of his family provided this information to Vanderbilt officials who opened an investigation of Poe for apparent violations of several provisions of the Vanderbilt Student Handbook. After a nearly two-month investigation, university officials concluded that Poe had committed three violations of the Student Handbook. Plaintiff was accordingly suspended from school, among other sanctions. Poe’s subsequent appeal of his sanctions was unsuccessful, and his suspension began in April 2023.
Libel, College Students, and Garnished Wages: Even Entry-Level Workers Aren’t “Judgment-Proof”
Volokh Conspiracy, Sept. 25, 2024
https://reason.com/volokh/2024/09/25/libel-college-students-and-garnished-wages/
Bachelor Paternity Case in Court! Clayton Echard Wins Big.
Feb 22, 2024
https://pjmedia.com/megan-fox/2024/02/22/bachelor-paternity-case-in-court-clayton-echard-wins-big-n4926673
Former Bachelor Clayton Echard has finally had the first part of his day in court. Laura Owens, a woman he had one night of unwise relations with, which he says did not include intercourse, sued him for paternity of her alleged twins whom she says she became pregnant with eleven days after their encounter.
Echard has maintained over the last nine months that Owens was never pregnant and that the entire lawsuit was based on fraud. Legal filings allege that Owens wore a fake pregnancy belly, provided Echard with faked sonograms, went to the media to ruin Echard’s reputation, refused discovery, and would not allow Echard to speak to her alleged doctors. Further investigation into the case found that Owens had taken at least two other men to court with similar allegations in the past.
[The trial judge in this case subsequently found “Owens had altered documents, changed the results of a pregnancy test, given false testimony and potentially perjured herself in what the judge said appeared to be “a case of serial fabrications. … [The judge] found Owens provided false testimony about her pregnancies in three other cases and presented false claims. In addition, [the judge] referred Owens for felony prosecution for violating Arizona’s laws regarding perjury and evidence tampering.”
Woman accused of fabricating evidence in ‘Bachelor’ paternity suit could face charges
#TheyLied Case Filed by Elected Official Over Allegations of Sexual Assault Can Go Forward
Volokh Conspiracy, Dec. 4, 2023
Former Yale student acquitted of rape in 2018 has been cleared to sue his accuser
NY Post, Sep. 17, 2023
Jury awards $4M to student who said Pacific University mishandled sexual assault complaint against him
Oregon Live, Aug. 22, 2023
Court Makes It Easier for Plaintiffs to Win Libel Lawsuits Against #MeToo Claimants
A potentially very important 2-1 decision today from the Minnesota Court of Appeals, which held that such a #MeToo post wasn’t on a “matter of public concern,” and was thus less protected by the First Amendment.
Volokh Conspiracy, Jul. 25, 2022
Righting an Old Wrong
Jury awards former Clemson student falsely accused of sexual misconduct $5.3 million on defamation and civil conspiracy claims. The case has implications for the future of Title IX.
Inside Higher Education, April 7, 2022
Law professor’s $1.2 million defamation award shows false rape claims’ impact in digital age, attorney says
Fox News, May 24, 2020
https://www.foxnews.com/us/minnesota-law-professor-false-rape-claim-1-2-million
Part of the reason for the strong backlash is growing public awareness of the often life-altering consequences of false allegations. Here are some examples:
The sexual encounter that led to Oxford student Alex being cancelled… and then taking his own life: What DID happen to turn Alex from a popular young man with the world at his feet to one shunned by his friends?
Nov. 10, 2024
[Here’s a reaction to the Oxford story from the group “Mothers of Sons,” which describes itself as “a group of ordinary women whose sons have faced extraordinary ordeals in our unfair, anti-male legal systems and workplaces.”
Tragic story of a brilliant Oxford University student who killed himself after another student told friends she was uncomfortable about their sexual encounter. No proper investigation – just kids turning against him due to a foolish girl’s “regret sex.”
https://x.com/Mothersofsons1/status/1855872956498416029]
Parents speak out after son’s suicide at elite New Jersey boarding school
ABC7 NY, May 2, 2023
https://abc7ny.com/teen-death-the-lawrenceville-school-student-suicide-nj-boarding/13204599/
LAWRENCE TWP., New Jersey — On the one-year anniversary of a student’s death, an elite boarding school in New Jersey released a statement publicly admitting its failure.
The Lawrenceville School released a statement acknowledging that it failed to protect student Jack Reid, who died by suicide in 2022, from bullying, saying it “fell tragically short” in Jack’s case. Jack was 17 at the time. …
The statement was required as part of a settlement deal with the family of Jack Reid, who had filed a lawsuit against the school.
In the spring of 2021, an untrue rumor spread across The Lawrenceville School campus that Jack, who was a junior in high school at the time, had committed sexual assault by kissing a girl. Then, in September 2021, a false claim that Jack was a rapist was posted anonymously to a nationwide student app, in a letter from the school obtained by ABC.
Lawsuit Alleges Title IX Complaint Drove Cadet to Suicide
The father of a Cal Maritime student who died by suicide has filed a wrongful death lawsuit alleging “anti-male bias” in the university’s response to a sexual assault complaint against his son. The lawsuit also alleges pervasive bullying by classmates about the allegations.
Inside Higher Ed, Feb. 28, 2023
Father Sues UT Arlington After Son’s Suicide
NBC DFW, Apr. 13, 2017
https://www.nbcdfw.com/news/local/father-sues-ut-arlington-after-sons-suicide/16192/
When bullied students end their lives, parents are suing. And schools are paying.
A Washington Post analysis found nearly 200 incidents when a bullied student took his or her own life. Some schools are paying out millions and changing policies.
Washington Post, Nov. 10, 2023
https://www.washingtonpost.com/education/2023/11/10/school-bullying-suicide-lawsuit/
Men Taking Action to Protect Themselves
As the risk of false allegations has increased, men are increasingly taking action to protect themselves. For example, many male professionals have reduced their interactions with female colleagues. Here are several articles on the topic:
New research: #MeToo movement hurt female productivity
CV data shows that fewer women academics are collaborating with men
https://unherd.com/thepost/new-research-metoo-movement-hurt-female-productivity/
Men are afraid to mentor women after #MeToo and it hurts us all: study
https://nypost.com/2019/05/17/men-are-afraid-to-mentor-women-after-metoo-and-it-hurts-us-all-study/
60% of male managers now say they’re uncomfortable participating in work activities with women
The Unintended Consequences of #MeToo: Evidence from Research Collaborations
Marina Gertsberg, The University of Melbourne
https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=4105976
Posted: 11 May 2022 — Last revised: 9 Aug 2022
How did #MeToo alter the cost of collaboration between women and men? I study research collaborations involving junior female academic economists and show they start fewer new research projects after #MeToo. The decline is driven largely by fewer collaborations with new male co-authors at the same institution. I show that the drop in collaborations is concentrated in universities where the perceived risk of sexual harassment accusations for men is high – that is, when both sexual harassment policies are more ambiguous exposing men to a larger variety of claims and the number of public sexual harassment incidents is high. The results suggest that the social movement is associated with increased cost of collaboration that disadvantaged the career opportunities of women.
Enrollment Crisis in Higher Education
False allegations are also contributing to the enrollment crisis in American higher education. As the risk of false allegations has increased on American college campuses, a growing number of male students have responded by staying away.
Fewer young men are in college, especially at 4-year schools
Dec. 18, 2023
College enrollment among young Americans has been declining gradually over the past decade. In 2022, the total number of 18- to 24-year-olds enrolled in college was down by approximately 1.2 million from its peak in 2011.
Most of the decline is due to fewer young men pursuing college. About 1 million fewer young men are in college but only 0.2 million fewer young women. As a result, men make up 44% of young college students today, down from 47% in 2011, according to newly released U.S. Census Bureau data.
This shift is driven entirely by the falling share of men who are students at four-year colleges. Today, men represent only 42% of students ages 18 to 24 at four-year schools, down from 47% in 2011.
Colleges struggle with falling enrollment — especially male students
June 5, 2024
The problem of false allegations is also affecting romantic encounters:
Fearing False Accusations, Men Are Asking Women To Create ‘Consent Videos’ Before Sex. Feminists Are Not Happy.
Amanda Prestigiacomo, Dec 5, 2018, DailyWire.com
Thanks to the excesses of the #MeToo movement, sexual encounters have morphed into an episode of South Park. In the midst of an otherwise romantic night, gals, you might be asked to create a so-called “consent video” so your understandably petrified partner can cover his behind against any future false accusation leveled against him.
A consent video is exactly what it sounds like: a woman telling a camera lens that she is fully onboard with having sex with so-and-so once the record button is turned off.
Young males are also learning to identify high risk females and avoiding them. I recently heard a story that illustrates this dynamic. There is a private, all-girls high school where I live. Several years ago, the school hired a new principal who incorporated many feminist themes into the curriculum, including misinformation about the prevalence of sexual assault and false allegations, and encouraged the girls to “take action.” This resulted in several incidents in which girls at this school made false allegations and engaged in online slander campaigns.
In response, many boys in the area now refuse to have any contact with girls at this school. In their minds, the risk of interacting with these girls is simply too high.
It has also contributed to an enrollment decline at the school as many girls and their families have become uncomfortable with the militancy that has been introduced into the curriculum. Some girls are also less interested in the school as they discover their social lives may be limited if they attend.
This trend, if it continues, could pose a serious risk for the girls school. If the more moderate girls and families continue to leave, the remaining students and families will become more radicalized, which in turn will drive even more girls and families away. We’ve seen this other times in higher ed. It will be interesting to see if it happens in this case.